I've Moved!

As I mentioned before, my apartment would only be my home for the duration of the TEFL course. And although I had actually planned to continue living there for a while longer, on a whim I started searching for new apartments.

Truth be told, while I did like my first Spanish apartment and it certainly fit all of my housing needs, it wasn't perfect. The rent was expensive, I didn't care for the neighborhood much (Seeing the Sagrada Familia everyday = nice. Navigating through crowds of tourists everyday = not so nice), and I also wanted to live with Spaniards in order to continue my quest for language fluency.

So Saturday morning, I very casually started perusing around Spain's version of Craig's List to check out some listings with no real intention of actually finding one. However, I immediately stumbled upon a brand new listing for what seemed like a suitable apartment. So, I emailed the person mainly to just get a feel for how this whole thing worked. And what do you know? She emailed me back within 20 minutes. So, we started emailing back and forth about the apartment, and she asked if I had any time that day to check it out. I hesitated at first but then thought, "Who am I kidding? I don't have anything to do today. Why not?" So my friend Mark (who I brought with me just in case they turned out to be sketchy. Safety first!) and I went over to see it.

And you know what? I loved it the moment I saw it.

I took a quick look around and chatted with the girls who lived there for a few minutes. Mark and I noticed a small but sufficient kitchen, a clean bathroom, seemingly comfortable couches, a large dining room, and my potential bedroom, cozy and furnished with plenty of sunlight. Wasting no time at all, they asked me what I thought. I quickly glanced at Mark for reassurance and then almost immediately replied, "I'll take it." And when they asked when I wanted to move in, I couldn't help but reply, "Tomorrow?"

And just like that, I had a sweet new apartment.

First of all, the location is clutch. It is in a real Spanish neighborhood (with no tourists!). It is less than a five minute walk from a metro stop. It has a supermarket just down the street. It is very close to a beautiful park and a super cool soccer field. And in one direction I can see the Sagrada Familia and in the other I can see the beach (oh yeah, did I mention it's a short walk away from the beach?!). That is what I call prime real estate.

Second of all, it's a lovely and spacious apartment complete with a guest bedroom (which is noteworthy for all of you planning on visiting me). It is old with plenty of charm and character, but well kept and well within my budget.

The Living Room
Complete with comfy couches, sweet antique painting on the wall, and a terrace.

The Kitchen: Efficient and very European

Hallway

The Dining Room
Complete with large table, chandelier, and another terrace.
[My room is the open door in the corner]

The Dining Room

My cozy new room
Complete with large window, a desk and chair, a bed, and plenty of cabinet space

And last but certainly not least, my new roommates are awesome. There are two girls and one boy. All of them are Spanish and all of them are music students (percussion and the violin). They know a little bit of English (which is helpful in case I really get stuck on something) and the boy also speaks Catalan (which I know will be the key to crossing that one off of my list!) They have great taste in movies and music, and answer all of my random questions I have about living in Barcelona. Score.

If everything continues to go as well as it already has, I think I will consider this to be one of the great accomplishments of my stay in Barcelona and the key to my (hopefully) positive experience. The truth is, it was a fairly big step for me. Never before had I found a new home in this way, and actually my experiences apartment hunting in Madison have been quite limited. I have always shared an apartment with Stephanie, of course, so I've never moved in with complete strangers before. Furthermore, Stephanie always did the hunting for us, so I actually have never found an apartment on my own before, and certainly not on any kind of Craig's List.

My friend Amber says that finding a place online like I did was a pretty gutsy move. And I couldn't agree more. I mean, just writing my own blog post about how I came to live in my new home makes me a little nervous, and I even still find it hard to believe.

But it sure sounds promising, no?